This application claims the priority of German Application Nos. 198 60 235.9, filed Dec. 24, 1998 and 199 04 143.1, filed Feb. 3, 1999, the disclosures of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to the controlling of a heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus, wherein a user can perform interventions which lead to different settings of the heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus, and further wherein various parameters are read into a control unit and processed.
A method of this kind for controlling a heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus is disclosed in German Patent document DE 40 23 554 C2. The apparatus has an operating unit at which an operator can control its operation. The operating unit also has various adjusting means for one of several alternative programs for controlling temperature and/or distribution of air. For this purpose, various parameters are entered into a control unit, for example by temperature sensors, and are additionally used for temperature control and/or air distribution.
In this type of control of a heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus it is a disadvantage that the personal preferences and desires of the user are not given consideration. Thus, the control system of a heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus providesxe2x80x94perhaps for good reasons from the cybernetic point of viewxe2x80x94for the blower to blow at its maximum rate if the interior becomes greatly overheated. Perhaps, however, the user might not like this. He might prefer to perspire rather than tolerate a loud and strong blast of air. He will consequently set the blower lower. The next time again, in the same or a similar situation, however, the blower will turn on at a high speed.
The invention therefore addresses the problem of improving a method for controlling a heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus such that the heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus will automatically operate according to the individual desires and preferences of the operator.
The problem is solved according to the invention by a method for controlling a heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus, wherein a user can perform interventions which lead to different settings of the heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus, and further wherein various parameters are read into a control unit and processed. For the parameters, climatic situations are defined. For a user intervention, a specific climatic situation is recognized. The climatic situation is associated with the user intervention, and in the case of a prevailing climatic situation, the settings of the climate control apparatus that pertain to the associated user intervention are performed automatically. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described herein.
An important advantage of these embodiments lies in the fact that the heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus is governed not by the mere program but according to the individual desires of a user. Thus, the user""s interventions serve to determine the user""s preferences in a prevailing climatic situation. The heating and/or air-conditioning apparatus can thus advantageously be adjusted automatically to the learned preferences.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.